Junior
golf’s top honors were announced Tuesday
as 86 boys and 59 girls were named Rolex Junior
All-Americans by the American Junior Golf Association.

Introduced
by the AJGA in 1978, the Rolex Junior All-America
Teams annually recognize those players who have
established themselves as the world’s premier
junior golfers. This year’s selections distinguished
themselves through their outstanding play in 74
national events, 53 of which where conducted by
the AJGA.

The
teams are comprised of 145 junior golfers, ages
13-19, from 31 states and six foreign countries.
These standouts will be recognized Nov. 21, during
the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet held
at Sea Island Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga.

First-Team
Rolex Junior All-Americans – Boys
Brian Harman of Savannah, Ga., the 2004 Rolex
Junior Player of the Year, headlines this year’s
boys’ Rolex Junior All-America First Team.
After earning both honors in 2003, he continued
his success by winning the Polo Golf Junior Classic
and FootJoy Boys Invitational during the 2004
season. He also competed in two PGA TOUR events
(MCI Heritage, Buick Championship) and advanced
to the match play portion of the U.S. Amateur.

Other
two-time winners on the boys’ first team
include Jon Curran of Hopkinton, Mass., Paul Haley
of Dallas, Rory Hie of Lakewood, Calif., and Jamie
Lovemark of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. Curran was
victorious at The Greater Hartford Jaycees Junior
presented by St. Paul Travelers and 21st Annual
Scott Robertson Memorial Tournament. Haley took
home the titles at the Dunlop Carolina Junior
Championship and Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail
Junior. Hie won the Heather Farr Classic and Lennar
Junior at Mission Hills while Lovemark took home
impressive titles at the Rolex Tournament of Champions
and 87th Annual Western Junior Amateur.

While
Robert Gates, Jr., of Gainesville, Fla., won once
in 2004, he ended his junior career with an impressive
feather to add to his cap: the title at the HP
Boys Junior Championship. The freshman at Texas
A&M also finished tied for second at the Thunderbird
International Junior.

Philip
Francis of Scottsdale, Ariz., a 15-year-old, and
2004 graduates Jon McLean of Weston, Fla., Webb
Simpson of Raleigh, N.C., and Jarred Texter of
Millersville, Pa., all have the distinction of
not needing a win to join this team based on their
performances at the best junior events the game
has to offer. Francis had five top-three finishes,
including a tie for second at the FootJoy Boys
Invitational. McLean matched Francis at the FootJoy
Boys Invitational and placed tied for second at
the Thunderbird International Junior.

Simpson,
who now attends Wake Forest, also had two second-place
finishes (T-2, Thunderbird International Junior,
2nd, 21st Annual Scott Robertson Memorial Tournament).
Texter, a freshman at UNLV, finished behind Lovemark
in second place at the Rolex Tournament of Champions
and placed third at the 21st Annual Scott Robertson
Memorial Tournament.

First-Team
Rolex Junior All-Americans – Girls
Julieta Granada of Asuncion, Paraguay, garnered
junior golf’s crown jewel in 2004: the title
of Rolex Junior Player of the Year. She did so
by winning the Rolex Girls Junior Championship,
the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship
and two additional AJGA titles.

She
is joined on the first team by two past Rolex
Junior Players of the Year in Paula Creamer of
Pleasanton, Calif. (2003), and In-Bee Park of
Eustis, Fla. (2002). Creamer won the Heather Farr
Classic and advanced to the semifinals of the
U.S. Girls’ Junior. She was even more active
at the professional level, securing top finishes
at the U.S. Women’s Open and Shoprite LPGA
Classic. Park, who did not win an AJGA event for
the first time in three years, had four second-place
finishes. She was also active at the next level
after she qualified for the U.S. Women’s
Open and finished tied for eighth at the LPGA
Takefuji Classic.

The
remainder of the girls’ Rolex Junior All-America
First Team accounted for 18 national victories.
Amanda Blumenherst of Scottsdale, Ariz., alone
tallied four titles. Tiffany Joh of San Diego,
and Morgan Pressel of Boca Raton, Fla., each had
three. Esther Choe of La Quinta, Calif., Mallory
Hetzel of Summerville, S.C., Jennie Lee of Huntington
Beach, Calif., and Angela Park of Torrance, Calif.,
all won twice. But this group’s accomplishments
don’t stop there.

Blumenherst
now has 10 AJGA victories. Choe had five more
top-five finishes in 2004. Hetzel placed in the
top five three more times. Joh never finished
outside the top six all year. Lee had three second-place
finishes to go with her two wins. Park finished
behind Pressel at the Rolex Tournament of Champions
in second. And Morgan Pressel increased her AJGA
victory count to seven.

Rolex
Watch USA, a supporter of the AJGA since 1983,
became an AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. The distinguished
timepiece maker is the proprietor of the Rolex
Junior Players of the Year, Rolex Junior All-America
Teams and the Rolex Junior All-America Awards
Banquet. Rolex also sponsors the Rolex Tournament
of Champions and Rolex Girls Junior Championship,
two of the AJGA’s most competitive major
championships. As a Premier Partner, Rolex is
the Founding Partner to the Achieving Competitive
Excellence (ACE) Grant program and an Official
Partner to the biennial PING Junior Solheim Cup.

The American Junior Golf Foundation is the primary recipient of all charitable giving to the AJGA and as such administers a variety of programs designed to compliment the AJGA and the members and families who make up our community. Learn more about these important programs and how your contributions to the Foundation secure the AJGA’s financial future for future generations to come.

The Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program provides financial assistance to junior golfers who wish to play in AJGA events. Its goal is to give top-flight golf opportunities to young golfers regardless of financial resources. This program helps to fulfill the AJGA’s mission of developing young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf.

Leadership Links

What is Leadership Links?

Leadership Links is a new program whereby the AJGA is able to further its mission to help develop young men and women by teaching charitable giving skills and service-oriented practices at an early age. This program gives juniors all the tools necessary to donate their time, talent and resources to local charities and the AJGA youth development programs. Please click here to learn more about the program and the different opportunities available.

The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and
development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf.